拓扑 (tuò pū) — topology (branch of mathematics)

Definition

noun

topology (branch of mathematics)

拓扑。
Wǒ zài dà xué xué guò tuò pū.
I studied topology in university.
拓扑。
tuò pū Shì shù xué de yí gè zhòng yào fēn zhī.
Topology is an important branch of mathematics.
拓扑。
tuò pū De gài niàn zài wǎng luò jié gòu zhōng yǒu yìng yòng.
The concept of topology has applications in network structures.

Single-morpheme word

构词法gòucífǎ

音译yīnyìTransliteration

The characters spell the sound of a foreign word; their individual meanings play no part.

拓扑 characters carry no meaning of their own here; the word is a phonetic spelling of topology.

Sound-only characters

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

扌石拓

Meaning part形符xíngfú

扌Written in full as手shǒuhand

Sound part声符shēngfú

石

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

拓 uses 扌, the hand radical, on the left, and 石 on the right as a sound part.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

卜

Same sound today

扑 uses 手 (hand) for meaning and 卜 (bǔ) for sound.